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Elena Gilbert took hold of Matt's hand as they quickly escaped to a nearby restroom. Today was her 16th birthday party and her parents set up a reservation at the Grill. Almost all the kids in her grade were here, enjoying the night as much as she was. But being like this with Matt felt exhilarating, she was certain nobody here was going to have a better night than she was. Tonight was very special indeed. Matt planned to drive out and they'd spend the night at the town's best hotel - just the two of them. He had even planned a couple reservation for two, a special present from him to her. She knew this was taking a step further in their relationship, but she embraced it. Elena was a free bird, she loved taking risks and hardly thought about her "moves". She acts on impulse, usually at the moment or on the spot.

"Matt, what's wrong? We already got permission from my mom." She looked at him closely. He had kept looking back at the party for some reason and she wanted to know why.

He shook his head, "I know, I know."

The next thing he did made her feel something was definitely up.

He gave her a soft smile and said "Nothing, Elena. I just feel bad, stealing you away from the party."

"Hm, why - you think my parents would get mad that you took me away? They trust you 150%. Even more than me." She snorted.

Matt's laugh rang through her ears.

"Either way, if they get mad, I'll just take the responsibility for it." His kind, blue eyes looked down on Elena's, oh-so lovingly.

It's been a year since they started going out. The two of them knew each other since the both of them were alive. More like since the time she was born. Their parents were close friends and would meet often. Matt's a year older than her, which she concluded was a good thing since he'd understand her more as a woman. Not like the...pigs in her grade who call actually call themselves guys. There was only one other boy who she considered more than a pig. Well, better than anyone actually. Almost an angel. A white light flashed before her and she shook her head. This wasn't the time.

Matt was different than the other guys her age. He's kind, understanding, loving, comforting, everything a boyfriend can be and so much more. There wasn't a single girl in Mystic Falls who wasn't jealous of her and her relationship with him. Who wouldn't be? He was perfect.

'Way too perfect for me, that is.' She thought to herself as she peeked a glance at Matt.

Not only did his personality lure her into such a guy, but his beautiful eyes wrapped her around his finger. For Elena, she can tell who a person is by the look of their eyes. It was like looking at a whole world. Matt's was like looking through a vast ocean, but then she'd always see the shore. Such safety. But sometimes it was like looking at the sky. It made her feel so free to express herself in front of him. And he would understand, taking in all of her. It was so perfect and strange that the two corresponded with each other so well. His warm ocean blue eyes made her heart skip a beat, it really felt like love. She truly believed this is love.

"Let's go now, our night is waiting." She giggles, knowing the two of them couldn't wait.

During the party, Elena drank quite a few drinks. Not as much since she didn't want her dad to regret throwing a party at a bar/restaurant. It was funny. While her other friends, Caroline and Bonnie, wanted to go to the bigger cities to party it up for their own birthdays - the Grill in Mystic Falls seemed like a better place to be.

They long left the restroom and were already heading out of the restaurant. She felt like a little kid. Giggling as she dragged Matt across the street. He gave her a heat-rushing kiss and the air got quite hot. Was it always this hot in Mystic Falls? She wondered.

"You're beautiful." Matt smiled before he let her go and looked for his keys in his pocket. They were standing next to his car, and it was then that a spine-crawling feeling went up Elena's back. It felt like someone was staring at her and she didn't like it one bit. There was something up. She turns to look at the Grill to find her mom waving her hands in the air. It seemed like she was saying something, but she was probably trying to say good luck. Typical mom. Elena chuckled and waved back, giving her a thumbs up.

Little did she know, Matt had suddenly left her side and her mom started pointing at the left. Elena grew cold and the air didn't seem so hot anymore. She could see her mother's eyes. It was filled with fear, at the dark realization of what she did not know. A moment passed as she stood still. Everything moved so slow. She was afraid there was some beast near her, ready to bite. Maybe the Rise of the Apes was true. Maybe monsters were real. Maybe... she slowly turned to to the left and found a man standing near. He looked rather ordinary. Nothing special. Some may consider him very attractive, but his face looked stiff. There was nothing warm in his gaze. And the way his eyes stared down at Elena made her feel naked. Like he was stripping away her clothes with that cold, icy stare. What intrigued her the most was how familiar he looked. There was no way they knew each other. Mystic Falls was a small town. Elena grew up knowing all the people around here. He turned his head to the side, giving her a smirk. It was creepy. She'd rather him glare at her than what he was doing now. The cold wind left goosebumps on her crawling skin, fear was in the air.

It seemed like he sensed her emotions because he immediately came forward, closing the distance between them. She took a faltering step backwards, but he grabbed a hold of her and put her up right.

"Don't touch her!" The voice came from a struggling Matt and for the first time, Elena realized this was a dangerous man.

It felt like coming from under the surface. She was wide awake, and slowly...very slowly Elena looked around to finally sense her surroundings.

'Oh my God.' She gasps as she looks at the huge men surrounding her. They were grinning, from ear to ear. She felt like prey, and they were the predator.

I turned back to look at Matt. He was still struggling to get loose from the man who seized him, but when our eyes met - his eyes were replaced with pure fear, regret, and sadness. Why? Did he know this would happen?

"You tried, didn't you Miranda. Hiding her away for all these years. After the accident, she was supposed to be mine, but you took her away. And him." He had turned to look at the direction her mom was at, and his eyes turned distant while he travelled to his past. But just as fast as he left, he soon came back to reality and smiled again. At her. At Elena.

"Now I found her. I found you, Elena." He licked his lips and looked her up and down. His hand slowly raised up to touch my cheek, but before anything can happen, Elena slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me." She spat. This guy was crazy. A psycho. She didn't want him to want her. He was disgusting. The fiery side of her soon started to come out, but when as she was just about to make her move, a sharp voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I called the cops you son of a bitch, so get the hell away from her."

Elena's mom, Miranda, rushed from her spot and pushed the stranger away. Blocking her away from him. She then instinctively touched Elena's arm which calmed her down, but somehow Elena still couldn't comprehend what was going on. Who was this man? For the moment, she felt safe behind her mother. However, as the goons surrounding her started moving in - she started panicking. Not only was she in danger, but so was her mother. Family comes before anything, which included herself.

The man chuckled, "You're such a tease, Elena. I always loved that about you. Always a fucking tease. I understand. Of course you don't remember me. It's been so long. If I tell you my name, I'm sure you won't need any other reminder." Elena's brows furrowed as she stared hard at him. Was that why he looked so familiar?

"I'm Damon. Don't you remember?"

She gasped. Damon...Damon...she couldn't remember his last name, but she remembered. Oh, how she remembered. It was so long ago, when she was four, she remembered playing with him for a short time. He would always get angry at her, yet touch her so much. It was like he wanted a plaything. And for a short time, Elena let him - but when he started telling her she should take her clothes off, she knew she had to tell her mother. Was that why he was so bitter to her mother? Even as a child he was creepy. Even though it was years away, memories started flooding in and she gasped - there were so many things she'd forgotten. How could she ever forget those memories?

"Now you remember? I was the poor little child whom your mother hated. Of course, my father didn't do many things to help with that, but still. You always did have enough heart to take pity on me. C'mon Miranda. Why take away your beautiful-" He turns to look straight at Elena before turning back to Miranda. "so young, so wild, daring, so sexy minx of a daughter? You know she's gotten much older now, I admit - she's a turn on. She looks so delicious."

Miranda left Elena and marched right up to Damon. A part of her didn't want her mother to leave her. She just wanted to leave. Where were the cops?

"Don't you dare talk about my daughter like that, you bastard. You're just like your father. Maybe worse. I knew I was right in the end, you're nothing, nothing but a worthless-"

"You should stop now, Miranda -"

Elena became agitated. Not only were the cops missing, but where was her father? Her friends, her classmates, they were gone. She could still hear the loud music booming from inside. They probably couldn't hear. Her eyes started spilling tears.

"dirty filth -"

"I'm telling you, stop before you re-"

"that belongs in the trash. That's right, you're no better than your own father. I'm glad I sent your family away from such a disgrace like you-"

She heard the sound of bullets and a scream. It came from her mother's mouth and Elena started panicking.

"Mom? Mom?" She shook her mom, the bullet was in her stomach and near where the heart was. Miranda was breathing, but barely. Seconds passed as she continued shaking her mom. Her breathing stopped and silence. There was just no way. Her mom was so fierce, she would have never died from a bullet. She wailed, tried to scream over and over. Then suddenly, another shot was heard and three men took ahold of me, but not before I saw Matt's eyes wide open. His warm blue eyes were now cold, a mere shell that had nothing inside. An empty shell.

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Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction, and I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter. Goodness gracious. I'm sorry you guys had to go through not only one, but two character deaths at the first chapter. This is the start of my AU/AH story about the romance of Stefan and Elena. I originally didn't want any crime/drugs issue within my story, but trust me. It will be very mildly introduced and then we'll talk about Damon's...work area a little more into the story. I hope you all aren't disappointed with Damon being the main antagonist. I really didn't want it to turn out like that, but what can I say? He fit the description. The story will switch from Elena's and Stefan's POV, but I can always stick to third person if you'd all like. :) The next part will come out next week, but the more reviews, the faster I'll post. I haven't explored much of Elena's emotions since they'll all come out in the next chapter. However, there are some things you should know. Although this is a T-rated fiction, it will have some neutral mature themes going on and it'll be at your own risk to read.

So hoped you liked the start of the story, and give it a chance! Love you guys. x

The story genre is Romance/Drama/Hurt/Comfort.